


Midnight

by caveyoja



Series: The Family You Choose [3]
Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 13:36:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caveyoja/pseuds/caveyoja
Summary: Molly and Chase break into the Yorkes house to get Gert's meds.  Of course, things don't go according to plan.Or:  why Dale is a better dad then Victor Stein could ever hope to be.





	Midnight

Stacy probably should have taken the meds that Dale had suggested when they went to bed. She knew she needed the rest, and wasting her time staring at the dull blur from the clock wasn’t helping get the girls home. She twisted herself onto her back restlessly, dislodging Dale’s arm from around her waist, and then paused hoping she hadn’t woken him up. She’d always admired how he was able to drop off to sleep, regardless of whatever crisis they found themselves in. Gert may have gotten Dale’s sarcasm, but the anxiety definitely wasn’t from him. 

God – she hoped the girls were ok. She hoped that they had a safe place to sleep, and that they were warm and had eaten and didn’t hate them for… for killing all those kids. Because that’s what they had done. Any excuses she had made up to justify any of this didn’t matter. Not now that Gert and Molly knew. They’d never be able to explain it to them. It didn’t matter that they’d never intended any of this, or that they’d been trapped after it became obvious that Jonah wouldn’t hesitate to hurt the girls. It didn’t matter that they’d been planning to escape. All that mattered were fifteen dead kids and that the blood was on their hands. And that the girls knew it.

She rolled over to her side and pushed the covers off of herself. No way was she going to be able to sleep. Her brain would keep spinning all night, and in the morning she’d not only still be anxious, but she’d also be exhausted. If she took a half dose now, she might be able to rack up at least a couple of hours of sleep without being too out of it in the morning. She slipped out of bed and padded barefoot over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her before turning on the light.

Aaaand...she was out of her meds. Because, of course she was. Why wouldn’t she be? Why couldn’t this, at least, break her way? 

She gripped the side of the sink and concentrated on keeping her breathing steady. Keep calm. Focus on what you can do now. And what could she do? She could find more meds. Maybe...in Gert’s room? Their prescriptions were close enough that Gert’s meds would work for her. 

She switched off the light and moved quietly into the hall, glancing at Dale to make sure he was still asleep. As she placed her hand on the doorknob she felt a cold draft from under the door. Had Gert left her window open? Privacy violation or not, they’d checked her room for clues about where the kids might have run to, and she hadn’t remembered the window being open.

What if it was Jonah? What if he had some way to find the girls? and was here now to get whatever it was he needed for that? Because, god knew exactly what he was or what he could do. 

Nope. No way was that glowing lightshow freak going to hurt her babies. Fuck that.

She reached back into the bedroom and pulled out the bat that Dale kept by the door. They might not approve of guns, but they were both pretty capable of swinging a mean damn bat if the occasion called for it. And that bastard in her house? That called for it.

She turned the knob, pushed the door open just enough to wedge herself into the opening, and gripped the bat with both hands, preparing to hit the room swinging at the first glowy light she saw.

The two people in the room had been facing away from her, but spun around when they heard the door creak open. Molly’s eyes were glowing, and the other one – fuck – she’d forgotten her glasses and it was too damn dark - was that Chase? - stared at her in shock. The two glanced at each other, and then Molly stepped protectively in front of Chase.

Stacy looked at them in confusion. Molly couldn’t think she’d ever hurt them, could she? She took a step closer and both Molly and Chase edged toward the window. “I won’t hurt you,” she said softly, trying to defuse the situation. If they could just talk – she could at least try to explain.

Chase glared at her, “That’s exactly what I think when I see someone about to swing a bat at me.”

Stacy looked at the bat in her hand and muttered, “Shit!” She lowered the bat, tossed it behind her into the hall, and then raised her hands, “Sorry – I thought it might be Jonah.”

Chase and Molly looked at each other again, and Chase asked, “And Jonah would be here because?”

Stacy sighed and lowered her hands. It was trying to protect the kids that had led to them running for their lives. They needed the truth at this point. And, well - fuck it - she was too tired to lie to them anyway. “Because that asshole has been threatening all of you from the day you were born. We all wanted out at some point, but he made it very clear what would happen to you kids if we left.”

Chase let out his breath and nodded, “That kind of explains a lot.”

“Did he kill my parents?” Molly asked, the glow in her eyes dying down as a note of uncertainty crept into her voice.

Stacey frowned, “He ordered someone to.” She stepped forward, reaching a hand out to Molly, wanting to comfort her.

Molly stepped back, her eyes starting to glow again,”Who?” 

“Leslie Dean,” Stacey said without hesitation, because, well, fuck that bitch.

Molly’s hands balled into fists as she processed the information, and Stacey saw Chase put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Why?” Molly asked angrily.

Stacey closed her eyes, remembering the last call they’d received from their best friends, “I’m not sure, baby. They found something, some kind of weird rock thing, but they were killed before they could tell us very much about it.” 

Stacey opened her eyes and saw Molly wipe away her tears. Molly looked up at Chase, who raised an eyebrow at her, and after a second Molly nodded at him. He nodded back, and turned to Stacy. “Molly’s parents left her a tape – said they found some kind of weird mutant rocks at the dig site.”

“Yeah – we got that much, but never found any of their samples after the fire.”

Chase continued, “They also said there were hydrocarbons down there, and a blind fault. They said digging down to it would cause a major earthquake, and the hydrocarbons would explode.”

The door to the room squeaked as it was pushed open, startling all three of them as Dale entered and observed, “Well – that sucks.” 

Molly glanced between Stacey and Dale uncertainly. Chase squeezed her shoulder, and protectively stepped in front of her, “That’s an understatement. So – tell me – are you still planning on leveling up to mass murder, or are you good with just being serial killers?”

Dale reached out and took Stacey’s hand, “We’ve been trying to end this for years – but – you’ve seen what Jonah can do! He would’ve hurt you kids if we tried to stop him – we had to protect you!”

“Well, great job with that,” Molly muttered flatly.

“We know we screwed up, and we wish we could change things,” Stacey pleaded.

“But we are doing everything we can to stop him now,” Dale added.

“And, so, what? We should come home and forget what we saw? Forget about all those kids?” Chase asked, Molly pulling on his arm as his voice began to grow angry.

Dale and Stacey looked at each other, and Stacey shook her head. “You can’t come back – not yet. We can’t keep you safe here. He’d be able to get to you like he did to Amy.”

“What are you talking about?” Molly asked. “What did he do to Amy?”

Chase’s eyes widened as he figured out what Stacey hadn’t said. “It wasn’t suicide, was it? Jonah killed her.”

“Yeah,” Dale confirmed. “Right under Tina’s nose. You kids are going to be safer if we don’t know where you are.” Molly and Chase nodded, and turned back toward the window, stopping as Dale asked, “But – why are you here? You obviously don’t want to come home, but you must have come here for a reason.” The teenagers looked at him suspiciously, “I know you’ve got zero trust in me, but at least get what you came here for before disappearing again.”

Chase nodded to Molly, and they turned back toward Dale and Stacey. “Gert needs her meds.” Molly announced. “I thought I knew where she kept them, but we couldn’t find them.”

Stacey gasped, “My god – is she ok? Has she had any panic attacks?”

Chase sighed – at least she hadn’t got that bad yet. “Not yet. So far, just some really bad nightmares. We wanted to get the meds before things got worse.”

Stacey nodded frantically, as she headed out the door, “Absolutely – give me one sec – if they’re not where she usually leaves them on the dresser they must be in the lab – they’re delivered with all our other shipments.”

After she left, Dale looked between Molly and Chase and crossed his arms, “So – why didn’t Gert come for her meds herself?”

“She’s been trying to tough it out without them,” Chase answered.

Dale scoffed, “Well – that’s ridiculous. Her anxiety is a medical condition that requires treatment! Toughing it out is an ableist construct designed - “

“And – here he goes,” Molly interrupted.

Chase smiled, “Well, we know where Gert gets it from.”

“From both of them, actually,” Molly corrected as she headed to Gert’s closet and started looking through her sister’s clothes.

Dale smiled, “Yeah, I suppose she does.” They lapsed into silence for a moment, broken as Dale prompted, “So – she didn’t send you for the meds?”

Molly shook her head, distracted as she examined one of her sister’s jackets and wondering if Gert would like them to bring back a few clothes for her. “She doesn’t know we’re here – but she needs them, and it’s worth the risk – even if she does yell at me or kick Chase out of bed.” 

Chase’s eyes widened He looked over to Dale, who blinked in confusion, and asked, “Excuse me – but – what?”

Molly froze and muttered, “Shit.” She turned around “Chase – I’m so sorry – I have such a big mouth!”

Chase smiled tightly, “It’s OK, Molls,” he gestured toward the door, “Why don’t you see if Stacey needs some help? I think Dale probably wants to talk to me.”

“You’re damn right I want to talk to you!” Dale confirmed. 

Molly exited quickly while Dale continued to glare at Chase, who cleared his throat and tried to think of a way to spin telling Dale that he was sleeping with his daughter. He really didn’t think Dale would believe him if he tried to explain that at this point, it really was just sleeping. “Look, Dale - “

“For this conversation, I think we should go with Mr. Yorkes.”

Chase raised an eyebrow, “Seriously? You know you’re just reinforcing patriarchal norms that treat female family members as property, right?”

Dale blinked, “What?”

Chase shrugged and the corner of his mouth ticked up in a fond smile, “Gert talks, I listen.”

Dale shook his head, stalking over to Chase and pointing a finger at him, “It’s not enough that you listen to her. She deserves someone who appreciates how amazing she is, and I will not allow you to just throw her away when you get tired of her!”

Chase’s eyes widened, “What the hell are you talking about? What makes you think I don’t know how amazing she is? OR that I would ever get tired of her?” 

Dale crossed his arms and stood his ground. “You did it before.” Chase shook his head, knowing Dale didn’t have all the details of what had happened back then. Dale continued, “When Amy died? You were Gert’s best friend – she needed you, but you disappeared. The next thing she knew, you were hanging out with that pack of hyenas that make life miserable for anyone with a three digit IQ.”

Chase crossed his arms defensively and muttered, “It’s complicated.”

“Well, then why don’t you explain it to me? Cause, all I know is Gert needed you and you ditched her to hang out with those assholes who’ve picked on her all her life.”

Chase took a breath, trying see things from how Dale saw them, and yeah, that was what it looked like. He and Gert had already talked through most of it, but he had left some things out because he hadn’t wanted to add his problems to the anxiety she already had on her plate. But, Dale? That was different. He could cope, and, yeah, it was partly about him too.

He looked up at Dale, remembering how he and Stacey had welcomed him into the Yorkes household years ago, almost like he was another one of their kids. But, he wasn’t. He had a Dad to go home to, even on those days he really hadn’t wanted to. 

He figured Dale and Stacey at least suspected about his Dad, and he knew they tried to run interference for him, as much as that was worth. They had always been the ones running late, never him. They had picked a movie that was a little too scary, and could Chase stay over, because Gert and Molly were afraid of the dark. They had fed him some new experiment in Brie, and he hadn’t reacted to it well, but they would be more than willing to tend to him until he was better.

Yeah, they probably knew at least some of it back then. Not that it mattered now, with his Dad just this side of dead, and everyone knowing it was because the great Victor Stein tried to murder his son. That he’d finally gone beyond the “spare the rod” rationalizations to full on psycho killer. 

No matter how much he’d had keeping the family secret literally beaten in to him, it really didn’t matter any more. Because the secret was out, and it was about damn time. Because he was so fucking tired of pretending that his Dad was Father of the Year, even if he still sort of wanted him to be.

Chase looked Dale in the eyes – he might not like the answer he was going to get, but he had asked for the truth and was damn sure going to get it. “I was pissed off after the funeral, and the next time my Dad took a swing at me was the first time I punched back. My Mom freaked the fuck out – she thought we’d end up killing each other – so she tried to get in the middle to break it up. And I ended up hitting her.” 

Dale’s expression became a little more sympathetic, but he didn’t say a word, so Chase continued. “Swear to God – I thought I was turning into my Dad at that point, and I had to get out of there, because if I stayed I’d end up hurting everyone I loved – and that included Gert.” He swallowed and cleared his throat, turning away to look out of the window, “So, I ran away for a couple of weeks. Slept on the beach, mostly. Got pretty good at avoiding the skeeves who hang out there looking for 14 year old runaways who don’t know any better. I didn’t think anyone was going to look for me, but my Mom found me eventually and talked me into coming back.” 

He paused, turned, and looked Dale straight in the eyes, “At first I hoped you or Stacey would come looking for me, but by the time my Mom found me it was probably better that you hadn’t. By then I was pissed off at you, because, how could you not know what he was doing? How could you let him? I mean, you talk a good fucking game, but when the problem is hiding out at your house instead of some anonymous kid you can start a fund drive for? You didn’t do a fucking thing to help me, and I was stupid enough to think that you actually would.”

Dale’s face became unreadable, “So – it was our fault you cut Gert out of your life?”

Chase shook his head and chuckled bitterly, “No. It wasn’t your fault. I get that now. Back then, it was my fucked up way of dealing with a fucked up situation, and you didn’t owe me anything. I mean, I felt like I was one of the family when I was here, but I really wasn’t, not when it came down to it. The problem was I thought I was as toxic as my Dad and I needed time to work through that. So I walked away and hung out with people who really didn’t care about me, because I honestly didn’t care about them either. Cause, if I was like my Dad and went off on them and hurt someone, it wouldn’t matter.”

Dale looked down and frowned, digesting everything he’d heard. After a moment he looked back up, “And are you?”

“As toxic as my Dad?” Dale nodded, and Chase shook his head, “No. I know that abuse victims are supposed to be more likely to be abusers, but I also know what my triggers are and how to control myself.”

“So, those kids you got into a fight with at school?”

Chase hesitated before answering, “I can’t tell you everything about that, but it was about stopping them from hurting someone.”

“Would I have done the same thing?”

Chase nodded, “Yeah – probably with a few less punches, but yeah.”

Dale paused, considering his next question, and then frowned, “So – what was that whole thing with Karolina? Are you with Gert because you couldn’t get her?”

“No – no way,” Chase blurted out. He’d explained why he’d tried to date Karo to Gert, but he wasn’t sure she believed him, and knew it was still a sore spot with her. The problem was trying to explain his pathological need to fit in to someone who regularly told the world’s expectations to fuck off. And, as much as that applied to Gert, that was even more true for her parents.

Chase took a step toward Dale and began to try to explain, “Karo was who I was supposed to like, you know? She fit the whole stereotype that the team – and my Dad – thought I was supposed to be with. And we used to be friends – I mean, not like me and Gert, but at least we knew each other, so I thought that maybe if we hung out enough, she might like me at least as a friend, and I’d have one person I could really talk to again. But, it never even got that far, because we were both really interested in other people.”

Dale looked at him skeptically, “Still not seeing how Gert wasn’t a second choice here.”

Chase frowned, remembering back to when they’d all gotten back together again. Seeing Gert and knowing he wasn’t supposed to want her, and thinking that she had written him off. Knowing that he was expected to be with someone who looked a lot like Karo. “The thing with Karolina was all about what I was supposed to want. I was supposed to want the pretty blond who smiled and never made problems for anyone. I wasn’t supposed to want the girl with purple hair who had a mission to fix everything that’s wrong with the world and was so smart I couldn’t understand half of what she was saying. And, when the girl you want tells you very clearly that you’re an idiot? Kind of makes you think she’s out of reach, so you settle for what you’re supposed to want instead of what you really do want.”

“You know, that’s a def-”

“Defense mechanism,” Chase interrupted Dale, “Yeah, we’ve discussed it.”

Dale frowned and his tone became stern, “But – defense mechanism or not - could you really blame her? I mean, how many times have those assholes bullied Gert and the kids she hung out with? When did you ever stand up for her?”

Chase shook his head, “Never. I wish I had an excuse for why I didn’t tell them to stop, but I don’t. I never bullied anyone, but I watched while it happened and was too much of a coward to do anything about it.” Dale rubbed a hand over his face tiredly, and Chase knew he had to make him understand that it was different now – that he had his priorities straight again, “Look – Mr. Yorkes -”

Dale waved that away “No – just Dale – you were right about the patriarchal bullshit.”

Chase nodded, and crossed his arms defensively. Even if Gert didn’t care what Dale thought of him, he cared. Despite the murders, he still thought Gert’s parents were fundamentally good people, and if he couldn’t explain himself to them, then maybe he really didn’t deserve Gert. He dug his fingers into his biceps to try to keep himself centered, and made eye contact with Dale. “Look – Dale – I have fucked up so much of my life. I made a lot of really stupid choices to try to be what I thought my Dad wanted me to be so he wouldn’t hate me. I know what a mistake that was now, and I am learning from my mistakes, and God knows why, but Gert’s forgiven me for turning my back on her, and she’s giving me a chance, even though I don’t deserve her.” Chase saw Dale staring at him, his eyes narrowed in concern, and Chase flashed back to Dale being worried that he’d leave Gert again. He took a step closed and vowed, “I promise – I will do everything I can to make sure she’s happy for as long as she still wants me around.”

Dale examined Chase for a moment longer, then turned away and sat down tiredly in a chair by Gert’s bed. He closed his eyes and shook his head, “Your Dad really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

Chase froze, feeling like his heart had dropped to his feet. Dale knew his Dad – he’d seen pictures from before he was born where they were friends. He couldn’t be saying that. Gert would have seen it, wouldn’t she? She would have told him that he was the same monster his Dad was, right? He felt himself begin to shake and wondered if this was what Gert’s panic attacks felt like. He wished to God that he could read people so he knew for sure what Dale was saying without having to ask. He cleared his throat and asked in a quiet voice, “What are you saying?” 

Dale stood back up, walked up to Chase, put his hands on his shoulders, and looked him straight in the eyes, “You are still a kid. You are allowed to make mistakes. You still deserve to be happy and loved even if you’re not perfect. Whatever bullshit your Dad told you? I know you’re not going to be able to forget it - or even get all the way past it – and, you’re right – Stacy and I should have done something back then, and I’m sorry we didn’t, because it let him get his hooks into you even deeper.” 

Chase stared at Dale, his shaking starting to subside, as Dale continued, “Whenever you think you don’t deserve to be loved, or that someone will stop loving you because you make a mistake, just remember – the guy who beat that into you was an absolute, undeniable asshole who had clinically diagnosable psychological issues. Trust me - I’ve known that guy since before you were born, and you are nothing like him.”

Chase bit down on his lip to keep from crying, and didn’t resist when Dale pulled him into a hug. He tried to keep control of his voice as he whispered, “But – he’s still my Dad, you know?”

“I know, but there’s something broken in him – it’s been broken a long time, and it’s not your fault, or your Mom’s fault, and it’s up to him to fix it, not you. You’ve always been a good kid, and you deserved a lot better.” Dale pulled back, and brought his hands back up to Chase’s shoulders, “And, you are NOT going to turn into him.”

Chase nodded, sniffling as Stacey and Molly got back to the room. His eyes widened in surprise as Stacey hurried over to him and threw her arms around him, “I’m so happy for you and Gert! She’s been sexually attracted to you ever since she hit puberty!” 

Chase blushed as he tried to get past the whiplash of going from talking with Dale to being tackled by Stacey. He settled on staring accusingly at Molly over Stacey’s shoulder. Molly rolled her eyes and smirked, “What? He was going to tell her anyway.”

Chase smiled tightly, and patted Stacey on the back, “Thanks. I’ll tell her you approve. That’s if she doesn’t sic Lace on me when we get back.”

Stacey pulled away, “Lace?”

“That’s what she named the dinosaur,” Molly answered, “Old Lace, you know, like the movie?”

Stacey rushed over to Dale and grabbed his hand as they both smiled broadly, “She still has the dinosaur?” Dale asked.

Chase looked at them suspiciously and nodded, “Yeah. We tried to set her free because she was pretty hard to hide, but she kept following Gert, so we just rolled with it.”

Stacey beamed, “That’s good – that’s so good,” excitedly explaining, “We designed her to protect the girls – I’m so happy it worked.”

Dale’s smile matched Stacey’s as he put an arm around her, “She’ll take good care of you.”

Molly handed Chase a backpack, and he glanced inside. Stacey explained, “There should be enough meds in there for about six months – I mean, hopefully that bastard Jonah will be dead before then, and you kids will be home, but better to have it and not need it, you know?” Seeing that there was more in the bag than just meds, Chase reached in and pulled out what proved to be a box of condoms. “And, Gert’s way too young to worry about pregnancy,” Stacey continued. 

Chase looked up at Dale and Stacey who continued to smile at him, like it was absolutely the most natural thing in the world to give their daughter’s boyfriend condoms. “Um...thanks?” he said uncertainly.

Molly was still smirking mischievously as she nudged him and held up her burner phone. There was a single text message from Alex asking where the hell they were.

Chase cleared his throat and nodded to the window, “We should get going – we’ve got someone waiting for us and he’s getting anxious.” Molly started to crawl out the window, and Chase paused, impulsively pulling out his burner phone and handing it to Dale. “Keep it charged up. We’ll call if we need to contact you.” 

Dale nodded, “Anything you need from us, you got it.” Chase turned toward the window, and Dale continued, “Oh – and given the guys you used to hang out with, you should probably get checked for STD’s, ok?”

Chase’s eyes widened, and Molly smiled at him. “Welcome to the family.”


End file.
